State\u2019s $5 million fund aims to address problem gambling as experts anticipate a spike in demand for mental health services.<\/p>\n
ST. LOUIS \u2014 For days now, Missouri residents have been able to legally place wagers on sporting events from their mobile phones, a development that officially launched Monday. It was celebrated by proponents as a long-awaited economic boon. The new law, which permits remote, online sports betting, arrives in the state after a $43 million campaign funded primarily by major industry players DraftKings and FanDuel.<\/p>\n
The introduction of mobile wagering is anticipated to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the state, capturing money that previously flowed across state lines to Illinois and Kansas, which had already legalized the practice.<\/p>\n
The excitement surrounding the launch was evident in statements from high-profile figures. Blues Hall of Famer Brett Hull and Blues broadcaster Chris Kerber welcomed the change.<\/p>\n
\u201cA day that has been a long time coming,\u201d Kerber said. \u201cYou can finally bet in the state of Missouri.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hull echoed the sentiment of local support but added a note of caution: \u201cThere\u2019s no better sports fans than the people of Missouri. Do it responsibly, stay within your means and don’t chase your losses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nA New Class of Risk <\/p>\n
While the law is expected to be a financial win, it immediately raised concerns among mental health professionals about the increased accessibility to high-risk gambling. The law permits various types of wagers, including \u201cprop bets,\u201d which focus on player-specific statistics within a game, a practice that addiction specialists say carries a particularly high risk of developing compulsive behavior. The one major constraint on wagering is a ban on betting involving Missouri colleges and universities, a middle ground compromise that satisfied the Sports Betting Alliance.<\/p>\n
Aaron Laxton, an addiction specialist with Assisted Recovery Centers of America (ARCA), said the shift to mobile betting will dramatically change the landscape of problem gambling, which currently affects an estimated 2% of Missourians, a figure he expects could rise as high as 10%.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see about a 5% rate of individuals coming in that report some type of gambling activity,\u201d Laxton said, referring to the current annual volume of those seeking treatment. \u201cNow with sports betting coming online we’re pivoting to anticipate the increase of indivudals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laxton described the severe isolation and financial ruin that often accompany a gambling disorder.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can think about an individual whose gambling, they’re gambling large amounts, and they start to use money they’re hiding that from their family, they’re hiding it from their friends, they start to isolate and that cycle of shame just begins to multiply,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The stakes can be devastatingly high for those who succumb to the addiction.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be a college student who takes out all of their money,\u201d Laxton noted, \u201cor it could be someone who cashes out all of their retirement and they take out a second mortgage on their house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nState Intervention and Safety Features <\/p>\n
The state law acknowledges the social costs associated with expanded gambling, establishing a $5 million compulsive-gambling fund. This fund is intended to finance treatment and resources for those struggling with addiction.<\/p>\n
Laxton noted that the betting apps themselves offer some preventative measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the sports betting apps have safety features that are built in to the app,\u201d he said. \u201cWe like to think of this as a seatbelt. You can set limits on how much youre allowed. It can create barriers so that it’s not as easy to make that bet.\u201d<\/p>\n
For those with a predisposition to addiction, the initial experience of winning can be a dangerous trigger.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe worst thing that can happen for someone who has a gambling disorder is to win the first time because they always want to go back and get that dopamine hit again,\u201d Laxton concluded.<\/p>\n
ARCA and other mental health organizations are preparing for a spike not only in gambling-related disorders but also in co-occurring issues, such as alcoholism, as the accessibility of betting increases. ARCA offers same-day appointments and you can call their hotline at 314-645-6840.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"State\u2019s $5 million fund aims to address problem gambling as experts anticipate a spike in demand for mental…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":166493,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[134,554,555,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-166492","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-mental-health","10":"tag-mentalhealth","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}